Around the House: Mid-Century Room Divider

Patience (and a commitment to our budget) recently paid off in a BIG way. It seems that when it comes to rummaging and bulk trash digs, I score the little items and the hubs scored the major pieces. Remember the light up sign he found while on location for a shoot in Grapevine of all places? Well, he's recently one-upped himself times two. Not only did he score two pull-down vintage school maps from the trash in a tiny little Texas town, but he found the gem above. A mid-century modern accordion fold room divider from an old church that is being torn down soon. I am so glad he took that time to go back for this beauty. 

We desperately needed a closet door/divider for my closet that is directly off our bedroom and in-between our bedroom and bath. It was previously a weird space that housed a no longer needed dressing vanity. When we knocked out the walls to the tiny closet and bathroom to open things up a bit.  Our original thought was Ikea sliding closet doors to close the closet off, but it just wasn't in our budget right now. And honestly, it didn't really keep the vintage feel of our home. This vintage room divider is perfect. 

Here are a few other really cool room dividers from the blogosphere.

rope dividers via

white curtains via

glass doors via

(two images to the left - sources unknown)

I still like mine best. So perfect. I love sitting in my room and just staring at it. ha ha. Thank you sweet husband for cutting them down, installing them and cleaning them up! Thank you Lord for providing in the most mysterious of ways. 

Have you found anything drool worthy lately? xo

Around the House: Vintage Cabinet Makeover

My sewing hobby brings with it a lot of little knick knacks. Not of the dust collecting variety, but the sewing notion variety - threads, machine feet, pins, buttons, zippers, scissors and on and on it goes. And a lot of those items are needed throughout each project. This led me to need a bit more storage.

Thankfully I'm a wee bit of a hoarder and had hung onto this vintage bathroom cabinet that was in our half-bath when we first bought our house. I knew it would come in handy one day. I cleaned it up and spray painted it grey. Not wanting to put anymore holes in the walls of our guest room, I used command strips to hang this baby. 

Once the cabinet was in place and secure with the command strips, I didn't like the holes where the screws should be showing quite so bold. I covered the holes with some inexpensive washi tape that I got on sale at Target. 

I've added a few things since the above photo - to fill out the space. I absolutely love this quick fix. I was sewing some things for the shop over the weekend and everything was right there at the ready. It made my projects go so much more smoothly and I think it looks pretty cute too. Win. Win.

Did you work on any new projects over the weekend? xo

Around the House: Temporary Solutions

Before my Dad passed, my sister and I promised him that we would take care of our Mom.  It was his biggest concern in passing away and the easiest promise to make. I mean, she's our Mom. The lady that cared for us when we were sick, shuttled us around town, cooked for us and loved us unconditionally - even when we were being selfish turds. We kind of owe her a lot! Both my sister and I would love to have her come live with either of us, but she isn't ready for that yet.  So we have convinced her to come and stay with us over long weekends or longer if she would like. This, along with my attempt to re-open my etsy shop soon, has led to some rearranging in our guest room.

It's on the smaller end of bedrooms, but I'm convinced it can do double duty for now. My boys will love waking her up with stinky boy breath and loads of morning cuddles. She will love getting sugars daily and waking up to my husband's amazing coffee each morning. I'm beyond blessed that we have a home to provide for her for however long or short her stay.

Do you have any rooms that serve multiple purposes?  xo

Around the House: A Touch of Fall

There's just something about warm woods, soft glows and a splash of orange that screams Fall to me. As temperatures drop and pumpkins make their grand debut, I find that a simple throw or a quick pillow change can make a big impact to evoke the feeling of Fall around the home. And to be honest, it's about now that I tend to daydream about lying outside on my patio with a great book and a cup of coffee (straight up, NOT pumpkin spice). I'm seriously thinking about moving my sewing machine outdoors for an afternoon or two.

fireplace, dining room

patio perfection

throw, books (source unknown), pillow

How do you inject a dose of Fall in your home? xo

amazing rocking chair image up top via 100 layer cake

Around the House: When the Natives Are Restless...

After months of being cooped up in the house, trying my best to beat the heat, I find that I get a bit restless and feel the need to redecorate. Now here's where things get tricky. I don't really have the money to spend on anything major and I can't make a decision on anything right now. (That's another issue all together.) With all of that in mind... nothing says non-committal change like recovering pillows. I recently moved our southwestern rug to the dining room; this left the living room needing a dose of color. Navy seemed the perfect color to pair with our green sofa and pinkish orange accents - so navy velvet and stripes were snipped and sewn. I added some handmade tassels to the striped pillow to tie the colors together and add a touch of whimsy.

Meh... I can't really decide how I feel about the change. ("meh" image above taken by my youngest - Liam)

I do, however, like the little dose of color and humor we injected into our master bathroom. I found this old "Be Brief" postcard while rummaging through an old farm sale in Polk City, Iowa. It makes me laugh every time I see it. "Be Brief" in the loo. Ha ha ha...that's funny.

Do you get sick of the same old decor? If so, what's your cure? xo

Around the House: A DIY for the Dorm

School is now in full swing and my SIL has begun her second year as a Baylor Bear. This year she has an apartment type dorm room and is so excited to make it "hers." Over the summer we found an amazing vintage black leather chair at a garage sale for $10. It's the perfect study chair, but is lacking just one thing - an ottoman. We both fell in love with the above pouf found on Camilla Styles blog and set out to recreate it. Her mom had the daunting task of sewing the pouf (and did a phenomenal job). My SIL and I added the triangles...

Her pouf has 8 panels instead of 6; she chose to put triangles on every other panel. We used fabric paint, a triangle stamp along with a ruler and a disappearing ink pen to ensure a straight line of triangles.

Once the triangles were stamped and dry on all panels, the pouf was stuffed and sewn shut. A task that was MUCH easier to type than do actually complete.

Seriously... how cute is that? We are all thrilled with the end result. I have a feeling this little pouf is going to get a lot of use this year. 

Have you made anything special lately? xo

Around the House: Julia of Life on Churchill

I've got a mid-century crush on fellow blogger Julia Fain of Life on Churchill. This gal finds the most amazing items as she strolls the isles of her favorite thrift stores. And her navy walls flanked by a flock of brass birds... swoon worthy indeed. Julia's home is simple and lovely with just the right amount of open space for her littles to play. And because it's been a while since the last guest post within this little monday feature, I completely forgot to ask Julia to fill out the Q&A. I'll just let her beautiful home speak for itself...

I told you... mad thrift skillz. If you're wondering how you can get your hands on some of the same stellar vintage items you've seen above, be sure to check out Julia's Etsy shop - Life on Churchill. Not only does she have great taste, she's willing to share her finds with others. (I tend to hoard my treasures - eek.)

What I adore most about Julia (aside from her sweet heart) is her carefree approach to mid-century life with littles; from playing with vintage stamps on the floor to pick-up sticks as decor. The most precious part of her home is the memories they make as a family. Thank you Julia for opening your home to Pure and Noble! Be sure to check out her shop and her blog for more vintage goodies. xo

Going Home

Sorry for the crickets around here lately. My family and I just returned from a trip to North Carolina to bury my Dad's remains and celebrate his life with family...

The first part of our stay was at this amazing old farmhouse that sits on 200+ acres of land, which just happened to have the most peaceful pond in back. I went there to spend some time with the Lord and my Dad upon arriving. There were even two little ducks swimming in the pond and fish splashing about. A perfect place to remember my Dad. (He loved duck hunting and fishing.)

After the funeral, we made our way to Boone to spend some time in the Blue Ridge Mountains. If you've ever wondered where the ombre trend got it's start, I believe it could quite possibly have been in those very mountains. I have never seen more majestic shades of blues and greens roll into one another. It was truly breath-taking. 

Being back home stirred up all kinds of emotions and I am constantly reminded of God's love and grace. Seeing family that I haven't seen in almost 20 years was so good for my soul. Just to give them a hug and be reminded of love that isn't squelched by time or distance did wonders for me. Family is a true gift and I am grateful for each treasure and memory made.

*I realize this post has zero eloquence and is pretty poorly written. I'm kind of emotionally drained. I just wanted to share the beauty of North Carolina with you all. If you ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend it. xo